Apparatus for processing cinematographic



March 10, 1964 N. E. ELSAS 3,124,052

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING CINEMATOGRAPHIC FILM Filed Nov. 6, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. NORMAN E. ELSAS ATTORNEY March 10, 1964 ELSAS 3,124,052

APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING CINEMATOGRAPHIC FILM Filed Nov. 6, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 so a 1 3sr42 n J 4" X FIG. 5

IN V EN TOR. NORMAN E. ELSAS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,124,052 APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING (ClNEMA'EGGRAPHllC FELM Norman E. lsas, 3925 E. Pine Valley Road NW., Atlanta, Ga. Filed Nov. 6, 15 53, Ser. No. 772,253 4 Claims. (Cl. 951ll0) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing cinematographic film, and more particularly concerns a method and apparatus for processing such film on a small scale.

Commercial processors of film, utilizing high volume techniques geared to average film characteristics and average development requirements for economic reasons, have failed to provide the individual treatment of film neces sary for optimum quality. As a result, photographers desirous of obtaining such optimum quality have often resorted to processing their own film with small volume techniques, so as to permit ideal determination of such factors as solution concentration, solution temperature, and time in solution. Such small volume techniques, however, have only been feasible for still pictures because the expense of equipment necessary to process long strips of cinematographic film has been prohibitive.

In addition to the benefits that may be realized by amateur and commercial photographers in utilizing a small volume technique for processing cinematographic film, other benefits are available to industries which use such film in accounting procedures to simplify the recording of a large amount of data, meter readings, and the like for subsequent tabulating. In such application it has been found that the time necessary for commercial development of cinematographic film results in inconvenience and is often detrimental to maximum tabulating efficiency. To reduce this development time it would be desirable for companies to process their own film; however, the equipment necessary for processing long strips of cinematographic filrn is not economically feasible for limited use and, in addition, is usually complex, thereby precluding an unskilled operator from producing consistently satisfactory results.

It is one of the objects of this invention, therefore, to overcome these and many other problems known to the prior art by the provision of a new and improved method and apparatus for processing small quantities of cinematographic film.

Another object of this invention is to provide for processing small quantities of cinematographic film which, for the most part, utilizes processing equipment common to still photography.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved film holder for cinematographic film which facilitates loading of the film prior to development.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for the processing of cinematographic film that facilitates inspection of the film during the processing cycle.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for drying long strips of cinematographic film.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for processing cinematographic film which is simple in construction and operation and well adapted to meet the demands of economic manufacture.

Numerous other features, uses and advantages of the present invention will be made obvious by consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like designators refer to the same or similar parts throughout and in which:

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FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one preferred form of film holder and base of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed vertical cross section of one of the trunnion bearings of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail perspective showing the notches on the film holder.

FIG. 4 is a detail of the adjustable film clip with the slide plate thereof partly in section.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross section of a conventional developing tray with the invention as used in connection therewith.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of an agitation board with a plurality of trays arranged thereon.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a fan and film holder arrangement showing the manner of drying film according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a detail perspective of a modification showing a leg attached to one corner of the film holder to facilitate its use with smooth bottom trays.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, one preferred form of the invention includes a fiat base ill on which there are mounted two laterally spaced, vertical brackets 11 and 12 having mounted through their outer ends, axially aligned bearing sleeves l3 and M, respectively. As best seen in FIG. 2, the bearing sleeves are provided with a central bore as at 15 which is counterbored as at 16 and l7 at each end of bore 15. Counterbores l6 and i? receive ball bearings lid and 19, respectively, and form the inner races therefor. Extending laterally through the bore 15 is a shaft 24 the inner end thereof having a head as a bifurcated trunnion 21, the bifurcations of which form a transverse slot 22. On the outer end of the shaft 243' there is a flat portion 23 adapted to receive a thumb screw 24 which releasably secures a hand crank 25 to the shaft ill-ll for rotation therewith. A retaining collar 26 is provided on the shaft Zn in order to preclude any lateral motion of the shaft and is locked in place by a set screw 26'. It will be noted that this arrangement, in cooperation with the inner portion of the trunnion 21, forms the outer races for ball bearings 18 and 1?, respectively, and the shaft 20 is rotatably centered in the bore 15 by means of these same bearings. A similar trunnion 21 is mounted on a similar shaft 2d) on the bracket 12 in the same way except no crank is provided.

The opposed trunnions 21, 21' are adapted to receive a generally rectangular wire frame 28 of a suitable corrosion resistant and slightly yieldable material, such as stainless steel, having substantially parallel longitudinally extending side members 29 and 34B, and lateral end members 331i and 32 which are in perpendicular relationship at each end of side members 29 and 3269. Mounted at one corner 33' of the end member 352 and adjacent side member 29 is a conventional spring loaded film securing clip 33 for releasably engaging the film to be wound onto the frame 28.

Another film clim 34 similar to clip 33 is attached to the side member 3t? by an adjustable tensioning means generally designated at 35, and consisting of a flat, generally rectangular lock plate 36 having a hole 37 drilled through at one end thereof and of a diameter somewhat larger than that of the side member 3% which passes therethrough, yet the hole is small enough to cause binding between the member 3i and plate 36 when the latter is canted. The arrangement is such that the lock plate 36 can be moved to any position alongside the member 3i) as long as the side member 3. is normal to lock plate 36; however, the lock plate 1% will bind the side member when the lock plate 36 is tilted or canted with respect to the side member At the opposite end from the hole 357 of the lock plate 36, there is an apertured ear 3% which retains one end of a spring 39, the other end of which is secured to the clip 3d through a hole 4% in the rearward portion of a finger of the clip.

Transverse centering notches 42 are provided between the lateral end members 31 and 32, on each side member 2% and 3 as best seen in FIG. 3. The notches 42 form a flattened portion 43 which can be readily inserted more or less snugly into the slot 22 on the trunnion 21 and a like slot 22 of a trunnion 21 on the shaft 29', thus retaining the frame 28 for rotation therewith. It will be noted that the walls as at 4 of the notches 4-2 abut the outer edges of trunnions 21 and 21 in order to preclude any lateral motion in relation to the trunions 21 and 21'.

The base it) also supports a conventional rewind stand 58 having a spindle 51 which can be rotated by means of a crank 52. The spindle 51 is adapted to receive a film spool in order to facilitate the loading and unloading of the film holder 28.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that during the development stage the following procedure is carried out in total darkness; therefore, the apparatus should be as simple as possible in order to reduce the chance of any error which might ruin the latent image preserved on the film.

With the base lit) resting on a suitable platform or table at a height convenient to the operator and cranks and 52 toward him, one side member, say side 30, is inserted into the slot 22 and the opposite side member 29 is inserted into slot 22 by bending the side 29 inwardly toward side member 319, then bringing notches 42 to juxtaposition with slot 22 and then seating fiat portion 43 of side member 29 into slot 22. At this point the operator turns off any light in the room, removes the exposed film from the container, and places the film on the spool 53 onto the spindle 51 of the rewind stand 50.

A short length of film is then unwound from spool 53 and the end of the film secured in film clip 33. The film holder 28 is then rotated by means of the crank 25 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, thus winding the film between the two end members 31 and 32 with the turns of film displaced along these members by the operator in a manner such that the film does not overlap itself. The emulsion on the film should be exposed outwardly with respect to the film holder 28 so that there is no contact between the end members 31 and 32 and the emulsion. When all of the film on the spool 53 has been wound onto film holder 2%, the trailing end of the film is removed from the spool and is secured to the film holder by means of the film clip 34. The lock plate 36 is then adjusted to a position along the side member until there is a slight tension in the spring 39, which will cause the lock plate 36 to cant slightly, thereby binding itself to side member 30, thus preventing the film from slipping off the ends 31 and 32. The resulting configuration is similar to that illustrated in the right hand portion of FIG. 7.

The film holder 28, which now contains the exposed film, is removed from the brackets ll and 12 by springing one side member, say side 29, away from trunnion 21 and out of the slot 22 and pivoting the holder 23 away therefrom; then by pulling the film holder 23 away from bracket 12, the side 31? will be disengaged from the slot of trunnion 21. The operator next places the film holder 28 into a conventional plastic tray 6%) containing enough developing solution 61 to completely cover the film holder and film as best seen in FIG. 5.

Such trays are often provided with a plurality of narrow, raised ribs, as at 62, which act as a support for the film holder 28 and allow the developing solution 61 to contact the emulsion on the underside of the wound film.

The film holder is then agitated intermittently by hand or, if preferred an agitation table may be employed as shown in PEG. 6. This table consists of a base 65 having two standards as at 66, vertically mounted thereon to which is pivotally mounted an elongated table 67 supporting three trays, 6t), 58 and 69 which contain the developer, stop bath and fixing solution, respectively. The table 67 receives a slow rocking motion by means of an eccentric mounted on the output shaft of a gear reduction box 7% which is driven by a drive motor '71. The eccentric on the gear reduction box 79 is connected to the tabie 67 by means of a suitable drive arm arrangement 72. The agitation thus provided allows a fresh portion of the solution to come in contact with the emulsion of the film and as a result of the agitation the film is developed more rapidly and more evenly than would be otherwise possible.

When the allowed development time has elapsed, the film holder 23 and film are removed from the developing solution in tray 6%) and transferred to a wash tray (not shown) to be immersed in water which washes away any excess developing solution so as not to contaminate the stop solution. The film holder 23 is then immersed in the tray 68 which would contain stop solution and allowed to remain therein the prescribed length of time. At this point the film may be inspected under a suitable light for a limited period of time without fogging the image on the film.

While this feature is unique to the present invention, prior art portable cinematographic film holders are quite lacking in this feature because the film must be spirally wound in a circular film holder which makes inspection of the entire length of film an impractical task. This feature also readily lends itself to the processing of color film because during this process, the film must be exposed to light for a short period of time in order to obtain a positive (true color) image on the film after the processing is completed. Since all of the film on the film holder is in plain view, the film may be more uniformly exposed to the light, thus producing a finished product of extremely uniform color density which hitherto has been achieved only by processing machines which are prohibitively expensive to the average amateur cinematographer or small company.

If, after inspection, the operator determines that the film needs no further development, if it then washed in Water again as described hereinabove and then put into a tray 69 containing the fixing solution for the prescribed length of time in order to clear the film and to fix the image on the film. When the film has cleared, the film holder is then removed from the tray 69 and immersed in running water for the desired period of time in order to remove the chemicals from the film. At the termination of the washing cycle, the film is immersed in a wetting solution to preclude the formation of water spots on the emulsion of the film. Then, by springing the sides 29 and 30 back into the slots, such as slot 22, the base 10 can also be used as a support for the holder 28 during the drying operation of the film. In order to facilitate drying, handle 25 is removed from shaft 20 by loosening thumb screw 24, and a fan is then mounted on shaft 24 so that air from a conventional electric air-driving fan 7 6 will serve to rotate holder 28 and at the same time promote the evaporation of water from film 77. It will be recognized that instead of providing for alternate attachment of fan 75 and handle 25 to shaft 2%, one of these members may be secured to the shaft 2% on opposite side of the base so as to avoid the necessity of removal of either. It is to be noted, of course, that a balanced handle would be desirable in this arrangement. To minimize the power requirement of air driving fan '76, however, it is preferable to remove handle 25 so as to lessen the load and thereby facilitate rotation of the film holder.

Although a wetting agent is used to detect water spoting on the film in some instances the wetting solution may not be available or the users supply may be exhausted. Under such circumstances the rotation of fan 75 and the subsequent rotation of film holder 23 will serve to prevent large drops of water from remaining stationary on the film so as to cause water spots.

Centrifugal action tends to sling droplets of water from the film. When the mass of the droplets becomes so small that centrifugal force alone will not dislodge them, the air stream causes them to move across the film and coalesce near the leeward edge thereof and be removed by centrifugal force.

When the film has been dried thoroughly, the end of the film is released from clip 34 and threaded into spool 53 mounted on rewind stand 50. The crank 52 of the rewind stand is then slowly rotated and the film is guided onto the spool by means of light tension supplied by the hand of the operator. When the other end of the film is reached, clip 33 is released and the remainder of the film is wound onto spool 53. The film is then ready for viewing by means of a suitable projector.

It will be noted from the above description that the film holder herein described is particularly adapted to use in trays with ribbed bottoms; however, many of the porcelain or metal trays on the market today have flat bottoms which would preclude the use of the film holder in this preferred form with such a tray. With use with such porcelain or metal trays, a modification of the invention as shown in FIG. 8 is adapted to this type of tray. In the modification a small leg as at 80 is provided at each of the four corners of frame 28. Thus, the film holder may be spaced from the bottom of the tray by means of the legs 80, with the solution free to circulate and reach the emulsion on the bottom face of the film on the holder.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the present invention provides a simple, novel and inexpensive film holder capable of being used with cinematographic film in conjunction with existing equipment. While structural details here presented provide one form of the invention, it will be understood, of course, that in practice thereof, numerous changes, modifications and the full use of equivalents may be resorted to without departure from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for use in processing of cinematographic film and comprising a substantially rectangular frame of substantially inert wire having side and end members and corner portions at the junction thereof; film mounting clips on the frame for holding taut film mounted on the frame, the mid-portions of a parallel pair of the members having notches with fiat bottoms substantially parallel with the plane of the frame, the notches providing abutment walls at each end of the bottoms and providing sections of the members with reduced dimensions, and axially aligned shafts having transversely slotted end portions, a pair of said sections being disposed in the slots of said end portions respectively with the walls abutting the end portions to prevent slippage of the frame in the slots, the frame being of somewhat yieldable material to permit resilient bending of the side members for the removal of the frame from the shafts for disposition in a processing tray.

2. A device for use in processing of cinematographic film and comprising a substantially rectangular frame of substantially inert Wire having side and end members and corner portions at the junction thereof; the mid-portions of a parallel pair of the members having notches with flat bottoms substantially parallel with the plane of the frame, the notches providing abutment walls at each end of the bottoms and providing sections of the members with reduced dimensions; axially aligned shafts having transversely slotted end portions, a pair of said sections being disposed in the slots of said end portions respectively with the walls abutting the end portions to prevent slippage of the frame in the slots, the frame being of somewhat yieldable material to permit resilient bending of the side members for entry and removal from the shafts; and means mounted on one of the shafts for rotating the frame.

3. A device for use in processing of cinematographic film and comprising a substantially rectangular frame of substantially inert Wire having side and end members and corner portions at the junction thereof; the mid-portions of a parallel pair of members having notches with flat bottoms substantially parallel 'with the plane of the frame, the notches providing abutment walls at each end of the bottoms and providing sections of the members with reduced dimensions; axially aligned shafts having transversely slotted end portions, a pair of said sections being disposed in the slots of said end portions respectively with the walls abutting the end portions to prevent slippage of the frame in the slots, the frame being of somewhat y-ieldable material to permit resilient bending of the side members for entry and removal from the shafts; and windmill blades on one of the shafts for rotating the frame.

4. A device for use in processing of cinematographic film and comprising a substantially rectangular frame of substantially inert wire having side and end members and corner portions at the junction thereof; the mid-portions of a parallel pair of the members having notches with flat bottoms substantially parallel with the plane of the frame, the notches providing abutment walls at each end of the bottom and providing sections of the members with reduced dimensions; axially aligned shafts having transversely slotted end portions, a pair of said sections being disposed in the slots of said end portions respectively with the Walls abutting the end portions to prevent slippage of the frame in the slots, the frame being of somewhat yieldable material to permit resilient bending of the side members for entry and removal from the shafts; an elongated slide plate on one of the side members and provided at one end with a hole of slightly greater diameter than that of the wire of the frame, said one of the side members passing through the hole, so that when the opposite end of the slide plate is canted, the slide plate will bind on the side member therethrough; a fixed film clip on a corner portion remote from said one of the side members; a rnovable film clip attached to said opposite end of the plate, and a tension spring interposed between the movable clip and said opposite end of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 162,622 Cain Apr. 27, 1875 647,388 Evans Apr. 10, 1900 1,369,873 Altschule-r Mar. 1, 1921 1,377,008 Dunkelberger May 3, 1921 1,477,063 Kind Dec. 11, 1923 1,489,601 Klaus Apr. *8, 1924 1,553,903 Lefebvre Sept. 15, 1925 1,756,197 Hopkins Apr. 29, 1930 1,903,174 Ferguson Mar. 29, 1933 1,924,944 Kittredge Aug. 29, 1933 2,153,810 Mercer Apr. 11, 1939 2,412,732 Holman Dec. 17, 1946 2,509,293 Friedman May 30, 1950 2,567,730 Rose et a1. Sept. 11, 1951 2,592,354 Stoiber Apr. 8, 1952 

1. A DEVICE FOR USE IN PROCESSING OF CINEMATOGRAPHIC FILM AND COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR FRAME OF SUBSTANTIALLY INERT WIRE HAVING SIDE AND END MEMBERS AND CORNER PORTIONS AT THE JUNCTION THEREOF; FILM MOUNTING CLIPS ON THE FRAME FOR HOLDING TAUT FILM MOUNTED ON THE FRAME, THE MID-PORTIONS OF A PARALLEL PAIR OF THE MEMBERS HAVING NOTCHES WITH FLAT BOTTOMS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE PLANE OF THE FRAME, THE NOTCHES PROVIDING ABUTMENT WALLS AT EACH END OF THE BOTTOMS AND PROVIDING SECTIONS OF THE MEMBERS WITH REDUCED DIMENSIONS, AND AXIALLY ALIGNED SHAFTS HAVING TRANSVERSELY SLOTTED END PORTIONS, A PAIR OF SAID SECTIONS BEING DISPOSED IN THE SLOTS OF SAID END PORTIONS RESPECTIVELY WITH THE WALLS ABUTTING THE END PORTIONS TO PREVENT SLIPPAGE OF THE FRAME IN THE SLOTS, THE FRAME BEING OF SOMEWHAT YIELDABLE MATERIAL TO PERMIT RESILIENT BENDING OF THE SIDE MEMBERS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE FRAME FROM THE SHAFTS FOR DISPOSITION IN A PROCESSING TRAY. 